pre-calc: Chalkdust? Thinkwell?

[Lucy the Valiant]

DD is finishing Algebra & Trigonometry this semester, and will need pre-calculus next year. I have worked through all the math with her, side-by-side, with books, over the years, but I feel that this is my last year to do this, as she is passing me up in math. She needs a better teacher than I am. 

I *think* I have the list narrowed down to Chalkdust (videos look excellent; course is a little expensive, but could probably do it), Thinkwell (much cheaper, plus a sale coming next week through HSBC - but is this thorough enough?), VideoText (it says "Geometry" = geometry, trig, and pre-calc all together - can they do all that in a year? does it matter?), or ColoskyMath (not sure on this one). 

Can anyone compare / contrast these programs for us? especially Thinkwell?

[gstharr]

My 8th greater just finished Thinkwell Pre-Calc.  Using a 9 month schedule, it is 4.5 months of  college algebra function, and 4.5 months of a full trig class. I really like it.  the  function material is excellent . But if your daughter has already completed a full trig, she might just need the college function half  of TW to complete pre-cal.  You can see the class outline at TW or HSBC.   good luck

[Lucy the Valiant]

2 minutes ago, gstharr said:

My 8th greater just finished Thinkwell Pre-Calc.  Using a 9 month schedule, it is 4.5 months of  college algebra function, and 4.5 months of a full trig class. I really like it.  the  function material is excellent . But if your daughter has already completed a full trig, she might just need the college function half  of TW to complete pre-cal.  You can see the class outline at TW or HSBC.   good luck

 

Is your 8th grader advanced, or is the course actually a better fit for younger students? This would be a 10th / 11th grade course on transcript. 

[gstharr]

Somewhat.  He completed TW alg 1., geom and alg2, before its pre-calc.  It is a H.S.,  college level class.   

Edited March 15, 2019 by gstharr

[Lucy the Valiant]

1 hour ago, square_25 said:

I think standardly trig is part of precalc :-). 

There's also Art of Problem Solving, not sure if you've looked at their stuff or not. 

 

That's part of my problem - I don't really understand the differentiation in regard to trig. This is the book they will finish in May (I think it's referred to here as Dolciani, but I hear it called Houghton irl). I'm wondering if they will be doing review in a trig / pre-calc course? Which is probably better than going faster for this DD. Hmmmm.

Edited to add: I'm a little intimidated by AOPS, both for the discovery method as well as the actual math itself. I envision her getting stuck, frustrated, and completely unable to move on, and my being helpless to help her.

Edited March 15, 2019 by Lucy the Valiant

[gstharr]

As i figured it out, and I'm sure I will be corrected, is that most of the precalc classes or alg2/trig classes just cover the trig needed for beginning calculus.  Then that part of trig is covered as needed in calculus.  I liked TW precalc because it included a full trig class.  But, I was looking to slow down my kid's pace so spending 1/2 year on trig didn't bother me. 

[Amy in KS]

9 hours ago, Lucy the Valiant said:

 

That's part of my problem - I don't really understand the differentiation in regard to trig. This is the book they will finish in May (I think it's referred to here as Dolciani, but I hear it called Houghton irl). I'm wondering if they will be doing review in a trig / pre-calc course? Which is probably better than going faster for this DD. Hmmmm.

My daughter used this book at WHA.  They skipped the trig part because it is covered again in precalc.   So I’d consider any trig learned as extra prep for precalc.

 

[prairiewindmomma]

My Ds is using Chalkdust pre-calc this year. There is a bit of trig in it, fwiw. I also hit my personal limit in math this year. Ds is naturally mathy and between the videos and the full answer key has been able to self-teach. (Dh is quite gifted in math and capable of tutoring if necessary.)

[prairiewindmomma]

I pieced together the generic chalkdust components for under $70, fwiw. I just did Calculus for $50. Use book finder to find the good deals—sometimes they are on amazon, but often they are not.

[Lucy the Valiant]

Prairiewind, did you compare Chalkdust to Thinkwell? I'm willing to hunt down & find Chalkdust, and we have generous mathy friends who would help when my girls are stuck, but Thinkwell is going to be on sale next week. Ha! And it looks so easy to just buy it and hand it to them. I don't want to take the easy way out if it's not best, but I'm getting into murky waters here with my own math confidence. 

[MamaSprout]

Have your dd look at the videos for both. My dd thinks Edward Berger is a goof ball, so it was a non-option for us. Besides, we really need a textbook. If you can help her through Doliciani Algebra 2, I think you could keep up with Larson/ Chalkdust Precalculus. I know Wilson Hill follows what you used for Alg 2 with Larson Precalculus.

If cost is an issue and you don't find a used Chalkdust set, Cool Math Guy is also Dana Mosely. The precalculus book appears to be different edition, so you'd need to choose your own assignments, but maybe you've already done that with Dolciani? Larson Precalculus is free and lines up with several editions (and sometimes the previous edition to a listed one matches fine, too), but the videos are shorter topic-based segments.

Edited March 17, 2019 by MamaSprout

[Lucy the Valiant]

11 hours ago, MamaSprout said:

Have your dd look at the videos for both. My dd thinks Edward Berger is a goof ball, so it was a non-option for us. Besides, we really need a textbook. If you can help her through Doliciani Algebra 2, I think you could keep up with Larson/ Chalkdust Precalculus. I know Wilson Hill follows what you used for Alg 2 with Larson Precalculus.

If cost is an issue and you don't find a used Chalkdust set, Cool Math Guy is also Dana Mosely. The precalculus book appears to be different edition, so you'd need to choose your own assignments, but maybe you've already done that with Dolciani? Larson Precalculus is free and lines up with several editions (and sometimes the previous edition to a listed one matches fine, too), but the videos are shorter topic-based segments.

 

What a helpful post! THANK YOU for sharing that - I'm actually answering this question for twin DD's. We have never used videos for math (though we probably should have!), and both girls told me their 1st choice would be "books just like the ones we've always used" + optional videos and friend-tutors if necessary. I will not have the time next year to sit with them and work every lesson like I am doing now in Alg 2. I feel like we have invested a LOT of time and effort into their math, and I'd like them not to lose that solid base. One may choose to follow an engineering path, not sure. 

 

 

[MamaSprout]

If you buy/ rent one of the current editions of the Larson books, CalChat.com offers tutoring and has step-by-step videos for the odd numbered questions in the books. Our edition is too old for that, but it's nice to know it's available.

 

Edited March 18, 2019 by MamaSprout

[prairiewindmomma]

On 3/16/2019 at 11:57 AM, Lucy the Valiant said:

Prairiewind, did you compare Chalkdust to Thinkwell? I'm willing to hunt down & find Chalkdust, and we have generous mathy friends who would help when my girls are stuck, but Thinkwell is going to be on sale next week. Ha! And it looks so easy to just buy it and hand it to them. I don't want to take the easy way out if it's not best, but I'm getting into murky waters here with my own math confidence. 

Ds did not like the samples he saw of Thinkwell so I did not go any further with that. Although we look about each year, Ds has chosen generic chalkdust for pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, pre-calculus and for Calculus next year. (We did MUS for geometry because he does not have a geometry brain.)

[prairiewindmomma]

On 3/17/2019 at 3:47 AM, MamaSprout said:

Have your dd look at the videos for both. My dd thinks Edward Berger is a goof ball, so it was a non-option for us. Besides, we really need a textbook. If you can help her through Doliciani Algebra 2, I think you could keep up with Larson/ Chalkdust Precalculus. I know Wilson Hill follows what you used for Alg 2 with Larson Precalculus.

If cost is an issue and you don't find a used Chalkdust set, Cool Math Guy is also Dana Mosely. The precalculus book appears to be different edition, so you'd need to choose your own assignments, but maybe you've already done that with Dolciani? Larson Precalculus is free and lines up with several editions (and sometimes the previous edition to a listed one matches fine, too), but the videos are shorter topic-based segments.

Yes, this!!

[prairiewindmomma]

Although my Ds watches the videos, he learns best from reading the book and working through the examples. Ds couldn’t function without a book. If he ever has a non-book college course, I think he will likely still buy something to reference against.

[Lucy the Valiant]

2 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Although my Ds watches the videos, he learns best from reading the book and working through the examples. Ds couldn’t function without a book. If he ever has a non-book college course, I think he will likely still buy something to reference against.

Yes. Both of my girls have expressed this, too. I honestly give their Houghton books full credit for all of the girls' math accomplishments. The longer I talk to myself / you wonderful people, the more I realize Thinkwell may not be on our list.

I appreciate all of this help SO MUCH!